Aw, poor PGA pros having to work extra hard for two months in a row…
Though I think the FedEx Cup playoff format could (and should and will) be tweaked to be less complicated and more player-friendly, I am a bit tired of elite pros complaining about having to play so much golf this year (post here, AP article here). After all, the PGA felt compelled to create a playoff because most of the big names made a habit of barely playing at all after the PGA Championship.
Few people like to have to work extra hard, but all athletes (and others) have times with extra intensity and less rest (e.g., playoff time for team sports, the Olympics for some others, April for accountants, etc.). And most sports heros earn their keep by coming up big during these intense times, not by moaning about being really tired and asking for a few days off.
That all said, I do think the FedEx Cup format could make everyone happy with this simple tweak:
Rather than another “standard” event this week to weed the playoffs field down from 70 to 30 for the final event, everyone placed from 23 to 70 should have to play in a match-play event, with the top 16 of this group emerging to go on to the finals. Those placed 23 to 38 now get a first-round bye in this match-play event, while players 39 to 70 play singles matches with the losers going home. The winners in the first match then play a second match with the players who got a bye, and these 16 winners move on to join the field in the final event of the FedEx Cup.
This mid-stream match play approach produces many benefits: The top 22 players get an automatic week off, while the next 48 players only have to play 1 or 2 rounds to move on. Also, players placed 23 to 38 get rewarded with a bye, while a suddenly hot player can still make up for an unspectacular season by performing well in the playoffs. Finally, I think one NCAA-like win-or-go-home match play event would liven up fall golf a lot.
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